Heart of Fire
by Mattrimion
Summary: Harry Potter has lived in seclusion ever since he was 7 years old. Now he's 14 and the world he thought he knew is about to be turned upside down.
1. Chapter 1

**Heart of Fire**

**Chapter One: The Survivor**

**A/N I don't own anything from the Harry Potter universe.**

Harry Potter breathed in as he knocked and pulled the arrow back to full draw, setting his sights on a handsome young buck, Two hundred feet from him, it wasn't the biggest that he had seen in the area but it would keep him alive, breathing out he loosed the arrow, he didn't even reach for another arrow from the quiver on his back, as he watched the arrow sailing through the air before hitting the deer, killing the animal instantly, Harry slowly walked up to the animal before kneeling beside it to retrieve his Arrow.

One thing he had learned in his 7 years of isolation in this part of the world, was to never waste an arrow, because that same arrow could save your life one day, he then proceeded to gut the animal, leaving the entrails for scavengers, Harry picked up the deer he slung it across his shoulders and began the long trek back to his home.

His name was Harry Potter, and he has lived in these woods since his Uncle came up here and left him. Far away from civilization, the only nice thing he could say about them was they had left him with enough food and water for at least 3 days, along with the clothes on his back, and the hunting knife that his cousin had given right before his Uncle yelled at him to get in, looking back he supposed Dudley knew what going to happen, and Harry could never thank Dudley enough for the farewell gift.

He could still remember that fateful day 7 years ago.

_A seven year old Harry sat in the back of his Aunt's and Uncle's car as they drove through the middle of nowhere, for the hundredth time or so it seemed he asked, "Where are we going?" to which his Aunt and Uncle didn't answer, not that he had expected them to after the first Ten time's he had asked. suddenly the car stopped and his Uncle got out, Harry scrambled to look out the window to see where they were, the door opened, and the next thing he knew he was being picked up and thrown across the small clearing they had stopped in, still dazed he watched as his Uncle threw a bag down on the ground and said "listen here freak I've had enough of you wasting space in my house I never want to see you again" he then hit Harry so hard it knocked him out, then he climbed back into his car and drove off._

Harry remembered waking up all alone in the middle of nowhere with a headache and just enough food and water for three days , the first three days were relatively easy, but once he ran out of food and water his life became a living hell, the next week was him barely surviving eating berries and the like, he had managed to find a source of fresh water two days after his rations ran out, after that he survived how he could, he began to learn the ways of the forest, now seven years later he was fourteen, he could have tried to find a way out of the forest and back to civilization years ago, but after a year the forest had become the home he never had, and as the years rolled by he became stronger, faster, and better equipped, everything on him he made himself, from his bow, to his leather boots, the only thing he still had from the world outside, was the hunting knife his cousin had given him before he left.

But he didn't just have his clothes or his equipment, he had well, he didn't know how to describe it, ability's maybe, it began about a year after he had been left here, he didn't know how he did it, but with enough concentration he could lift things without picking them up, he could summon and control fire, he could manipulate water and earth, he could also change the course of the winds, as well as being able to teleport to anywhere that was within line of sight, he could even transform into a black white and gray wolf, he could also talk to snakes, and as he got stronger and faster so too did his power increase, after a couple months of practice, he found that it wasn't as hard to lift a rock or set fire to a pile of wood, and since he had these ability's as he called them, they had both saved his life and made living in this forest a little easier, but it still was a hard life and knew he could die any day, if he wasn't carful he learned that the hard way.

Just about two years after being dropped off by his Uncle, he thought he knew all the forest had to show, how wrong he was.

It happened on a Thursday or was it Friday, he couldn't keep track of the days very well anymore it just didn't seem to matter, well back to the story, he had awoken one night to a howling on the winds, at first he thought it was a wolf but as he listened he thought it didn't sound like the wolfs he'd listened to before, he reached over and grabbed a spear he had made which was just his hunting knife tied to a long stick, he got up and warily looked around, the first glimpse he had was of a shadow moving slowly around him like predator getting ready to pounce, he readied his spear but what came into the light of the dying flames from the fire pit, was a werewolf, he was so shocked he dropped his spear causing the werewolf to see an opening and pounce, he barely retrieved the spear and got it up in time.

Warm liquid splattered his hands as he held the spear out, he opened his eyes not realizing he had closed them to see his spear and bin driven right into the werewolf's heart, he stared at it for while in shock before he fainted causing the werewolf to fall on him.

Waking up the next day he thought he had been dreaming until he felt the crushing wait of the werewolf's body, since that day he had seen more creatures that he thought were myth or legend, but he learned that day, not only could he never let his guard down, but that he was not alone in this forest, over the years he has seen many other creatures, he didn't think existed, like unicorns, giant spiders, centaurs, winged horses of some kind, but there were to many to list,

Pulling himself out of his musing he looked around to find himself in his little camp already, his smiled to himself, "_wow" _he thought, "_I must have been really deep in thought_" he then kicked himself, "_I let down my guard I could have been ambushed, you complete idiot, hasn't living here for seven years taught you anything yet, NEVER LET YOU GUARD DOWN!" _he yelled in his head before moving on to other choice words about his stupidity.

Harry let out a sigh, before placing the dear on the ground next to his little cottage he has managed to build over the years, he then went over to a small pond, before pulling his hood down and tugging down his mask so it was now hanging around his neck, he knelt down to wash his face, once the ripples cleared he looked at his reflection.

A fourteen year old boy looked back at him, with black untidy hair that came down to just above his shoulders, with bright green eyes. Ever since he transformed that first time into a wolf, his eyesight along with his hearing and sense of smell had increased, he no longer had to wear glasses, which was useful because with all the scrapes he had gotten into over the years the glasses wouldn't have held up anyway. he also had two scars, one in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead, the other went from just above his right eyebrow down over his eye to his cheekbone, the first he had been told he had gotten in his parents car crash, that killed them thirteen years ago, the second he had gotten from a fight with a werewolf, he got that scar and the werewolf lost its life, a fair trade in his opinion, he knew he had been lucky, any deeper and he would have lost his eye.

Sitting back on his heels with a sigh, he looked around his campsite, his little cottage with just enough room for him to sleep and take shelter when it rained or snowed, the wood shed that held and protected his fire wood and all his tools was right next to the cottage, the fire pit was in the center of the camp, even the pond he had just washed his face wasn't here naturally, it had started out as a freshwater stream that slowly wound its way through the trees, he had dug a 4 foot by 3 hole, and let the stream fill it up before moving on downstream, the pond provided a way to wash-up at the end of the day, and last but not least a little garden that was on the other side of the cottage, where he grew anything he could from berry bushes to carrots and potatoes, he had gotten the seeds for his plant's from the local herd of centaurs, not that they were friendly, but after a while, a while being 2 years, they got used to his presence in the forest, and begun to trade with him, not very much but he traded them animal skins that he hunted as well as anything else that might interest them. "wow" he thought, "I've come a long way since that first night taking shelter under that tree, sighing he got up and went over to the wood shed to get some wood, before getting a fire going for the night.

As he sat back and watched the flames dance, he had a thought, "_I wonder how much the outside world has changed since I left?_" shaking his head he got up to go get the deer ready to roast over the fire.

He finished preparing the deer, placing it on a spit over the fire he began cleaning up the mess from preparing the deer, turning the spit every so often so the meat didn't burn, when he finished cleaning he went to set the small pond again before stripping down starting with his quiver and knife, before working his way through his clothes, soon he was fully undressed, stepped into the pond, the water was chilly but not to an unbearable degree, he scrubbed quickly before hopping out and getting dressed.

When he returned to the fire he checked the meat, finding it was done he settled down for his dinner.

One thing that had changed about Harry was his appetite, when he first transformed into his wolf form, he notice a change in his food preferences, he started to like rarer meat, he also started to eat as if there were two of him, as well as his increased senses, needless to say it began to become a problem during winter when he started to store the produce from his garden, there wasn't enough to last the winter so he started to depend more on meat from hunting, his garden doubled in size after that particular winter, and it has steadily grown in size every winter.

Finishing his dinner, he tossed the bone in the fire pit before grabbing his bow, before heading inside the cottage to get some sleep, unstringing his bow he set it against the wall with his quiver, before climbing into bed, which consisted of blankets he had made out of the animal skins from the animals he had hunted, as he was just settling down to sleep he had a feeling, he shivered, Harry didn't like it when he got these feelings, he had only gotten this feeling 3 times before, and every single time it signaled that change was going to happen, and he knew that the chances of it being good weren't in his favor, to Harry good was an interesting concept, for every good thing that happened in his life 2 bad things followed, Harrys last thought before drifting off to sleep was "_oh boy not again, well how bad could it really be?" _ He has fought werewolves, he has negotiated with centaurs, and he survived the poison from a poison dart, from a hunting hob goblin, although that last one was a close call. "_Well it's too late to worry now I'll just have to wait and see what happens". _

**A/N this is my first fanfic so I hope you like it, it's probably not the best, but if you have any suggestions on how to make it better let me know. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Heart of Fire**

**Chapter Two: ****Lost **

**A/N I do not own anything from the Harry Potter universe.**

The sound of galloping hooves, startled Harry from his peaceful slumber, throwing his blanket aside he jumped to his feet, grabbed his bow, strung it, knocked an arrow, and had it drawn before his blanket even settled, the door bust open and Harry almost shot, the only reason he didn't was he recognized the centaur, Garth came to a stop most of his horse half still outside the door, standing almost 2ft taller than Harry with brown hair and hazel eyes, "Harry Potter we have a problem" Garth spoke hurriedly, eyeing the drawn bow in his hands, "what's wrong?" Harry said, lowering the bow slowly but left the arrow knocked, "a female walked into Cloudfoot territory" Garth replied, that perked Harry's interest, "_why would a centaur enter werewolf territory alone?" _ Even if it was a diplomatic visit centaurs always traveled together in groups, "that would be between Thain and Scar, Why come to me?" Harry asked curiously, as he returned his arrow to the quiver lying against the wall, "I didn't say she was a centaur" Garth said, Harry froze, slowly turning back to face Garth "Fae?" Harry asked, Garth shook his head and said the one word that set the whole forest on edge, "human"

Harry said the only word that came to mind "Shit!" Harry hurriedly began grabbing his stuff, "how long have they had her?"

"2 hours give or take" Garth said, "Have they administered the Bite yet?" Harry's voice was muffled as he pulled on a long sleeve shirt, "not that I know of, but I doubt it will be much longer" Harry belted his knife along with the many pouches he always carried on and reached for his quiver "_there might still be time"_ he thought, before going on to ask "are the centaurs going to lend aid?" Garth shook his head "you know what they're like, centaurs don't like to get involved" he said simply, "then why are you here?" Harry asked though he thought he already knew the answer, "I owed you a debt" Garth said simply, Harry nodded it was just as he thought, Garth turning to leave he stopped to look over his shoulder when Harry called his name, "Garth….. Thank You" a grin touched Garths lips for a second, "you are welcome Harry" he replied, before he walked out the door, once he was outside though he broke into a gallop.

Harry finished settling the quiver on his back and reached for his bow again, he pulled up his hood and face mask so all you could see were his bright green eyes, he dashing outside, just stopping long enough to close the door, Harry dashed to the edge of the Camp, stopping to look back he got the feeling he wouldn't see this place again for a long time, shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts he ran into the trees, Harry knew it would take him to long to get to werewolf territory on foot, but he had a different way of traveling that was much faster, reaching up he snagged a low hanging branch and used his momentum to swing himself up into its branches, he then began to run from branch to branch limb to limb. This was a fast way to travel especially when he could teleport to branches that were too far apart to jump to, "_I hope I'm not too late, if they administer the Bite already" _Harry could already see the dominos falling in his head, first she'll turn, then she'll escape back to her town, then on the full moon she'll transform, causing her to lose her mind and bite anyone within reach, which would catch the attention of the so called Ministry he'd heard of, causing them to come and find out what happened, end result, the forest would never be the same, they would try to tame her as if she was a wild beast, burning her, chopping down her trees, forcing her people to register and live in a world of people that despised them for what they are.

Harry would not let that happen the forest was his home, and just as she had taken care of him over the years, he would do everything he could to take care of her, shaking his head to dispel these thoughts he traveled even faster through the forest, hoping he was in time, already dreading what he would have to do if he wasn't.

Change POV.

Nymphadora Tonks was having a very bad day, here she was with a gag in her mouth and chained to the wall, but they weren't normal chains, she could feel her magical energy being drained by them, which rendered her Metamorphmagus ability useless, so she couldn't shrink her hands and slip out of the handcuffs, her cloths were torn and shredded, she had scrapes and bruises everywhere, tugging on the chains one more time before she gave up, she sat down and tried the think what she did to deserve the bad day she was having, she started thinking over the past day to see if she could make any sense of it.

_It all started with the water heating charms for the shower in her apartment giving out so she had to take a cold shower, then she found out that the flue network was down following the fact that the wards for the Ministry of Magic had decided to go haywire, blocking Apparition so you couldn't Apparate anywhere inside it causing a lot of people to have walk to the Ministry, after that she thought her day couldn't get any worse, oh how wrong she was, she was then sent on this mission, the mission was simple just investigate the Magical disturbances that had been popping up in the area, that is when she thought he day was looking up, "finally" she had thought "my first solo mission, even if it is just a milk-run" that is when her day went down again, she was assigned a partner, and not just any partner, one of the worst partners that she could ever be assigned, his name was Jake Monroe and he was the most sexist-perverted-arrogant son of a bitch she ever had the displeasure of meeting, and with her being a Metamorphmagus,_ (_someone that could change their hair color, eye color , height-Wight, and you get the rest_) _she was doomed._

_the mission started out just fine with them leaving the Ministry and Apparateing to the edge of this forest, but shortly after entering things started to go crazy, for some reason they kept getting turned around, after while they found themselves at a fast flowing river that Jake decided to follow, because her opinion didn't seem matter, though for once she actually agreed with him, so she followed him as he followed the river downstream for a bit until they came across one of the Xs Nymphadora had carved into the trees as they wondered through the forest looking for anything out of the ordinary, now here they were somehow managing to get turned around once again even though they had been following a river, that is when Jake lost it, he had a date that night as he had been bragging about for the last coupled days, he cast an explosion hex at a nearby tree, it shattered pieces and splinters going everywhere, they both froze when the forest around them seemed to moan when the tree was destroyed, she had told him to cut it out that shouldn't destroy things just cause he couldn't his stop from going in circles, they could have been hurt, that is when he lost it never in his life had a women told him what to do, not even his own mother had ever told him what to do so long as he remembered, he was a pure-blood and she was nothing but a half-blood and she wasn't even a women but a girl and she had just told him what to do, Jake was outraged he turned pointing his wand and pointed it at her, "I am your superior in blood as well as rank and you will not speak like that to me" he spat, she drew her wand and almost had it up in time to defend herself but she was to late, he cast a hurling hex causing her to be thrown back, landing in the river, before she could more than gasp at the coldness of the water, the current pulled he under before smashing up against a rock losing conciseness, she woke after who know how long soaking wet and a knot beginning to form on the side of her head, "first my partner turns his wand on me and I get hurled into the river, then I wash-up on this small beach, unable to Apparate, not to mention the sun is setting and I'm soaking wet, at least I didn't lose my wand" when she had been thrown back, she sub concisely secured her wand back in its holster before hitting the cold water, at this point she couldn't see how things could get any worse._

_She was proven wrong yet again a few hours later, she was struggling her way through the underbrush, she had shortened he hair so it wouldn't get caught in the brush, the brush ended and she stumbled forward cause there was no more resistance, she looked around she was in a small clearing, through the gap in the trees she could see it was a full moon, no sooner had she looked up then she heard a wolfs howl, she shivered, in training they had been taught the difference between a wolf howl and a werewolf howl there wasn't much difference but enough to for those trained, and that wasn't a regular wolf howl that was a werewolf and it was hunting, just then it howled again but this time others answered it from all around her, she felt dread settle into her stomach it wasn't alone, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, turning she draw her wand but even as she did they charged, she counted "1…2…3…4 she thought dodging and casting every spell that came to mind, she managed to severely injure one with a cutting curse across the chest, due to the werewolf's hard skin the spell didn't go all the way through, but it still caused major damage, her victory was short lived however as another one landed a blow across he cheek sending her flying into a tree before sliding to the ground with an audible thump!, the last thing she saw before darkness covered everything was the other 3 werewolves drawing closer._

Still unable to understand why this all happened to her, she sighed, she heard the door open, looking up she scrambled to her feet as a fully transformed werewolf walked in, her heart rate skyrocketed, the only thought going through her head was "_how can it be fully transformed?,"_ she could clearly see the sun shining outside, as it approached she backed-up until her back hit the wall, "if you cause trouble I won't hesitate to kill you" it growled as it started to undo her chains, "_it can talk_" she thought, it sneered as it finished undoing her chains, leaving the handcuffs on it shoved her toward the door, having no choice but to compile she began walking, but when she passed the threshold of the door she stopped again in shock, there were werewolf's everywhere she looked, and they all turned to look at her, as she emerged from the small shack she was in, turning she could see it didn't look as big from the outside as it did from the inside, she was given another violent shove this time it sent her stumbling, "keep moving" the werewolf that was escorting her commanded.

At this point she was starting to hyperventilate, her rational mind trying to make sense of what was going on, "_what's going on here? Werewolf's fully transformed, it's the middle of the day, this just can't be happening_" she was so busy looking at the werewolves she didn't see the rock before it was too late, she tripped landing on her stomach sending all the air from her longs, desperately trying to breath as she saw spots dance in her vision, she was picked up and shoved forward again, she barely managed to stay on her feet as she finally managed to pull much needed air into her lungs, taking 2 more steps she felt the chains jerk behind her forcing her to stop.

They had come to a stop in the center of a circle of rocks about 10ft from end to end (probably the same rocks she had tripped on) the rocks were about as big as her head around her, with some kind of markings inscribed into them though she was too far away to see clearly, there were also two posts in the ground one on either side of her, she barely had enough time to take it all in before she was forced to her knees, the took off the handcuffs and chained one hand to each of the two posts, "well at least I know what the posts are for" she thought with a small laugh, before fear started to take hold of her again, the werewolf's had started to gather around the circle of rocks as she was being chained down, she counted at least 15 to 20 in all she thought but couldn't be sure, "eye's front human" the werewolf behind her growled, looking forward quickly she notice a white werewolf with red eyes approach, as he (it was a he, she decided there was something about the way he walked that screamed male) as he came closer she notice he had stripes of slightly darker fur they went from his shoulders down at an angle to each hip crossing in the middle which made it look like an X, she thought it was a scar at first but as he drew closer she noticed it was just slightly darker fur, the only scar that was on him was clearly visible on his side just by looking at it she was surprised it hadn't killed him, it looked so bad, the werewolf came to a stop in front of her, the werewolves around her knelt down on one knee and bow their heads in respect, she supposed he was the leader of the pack, the leader gave a brief nod of his head and the they rose to their feet, he then turned his attention to her assumed as she looked up into those red eyes she felt a shiver run down her spine but she wouldn't look away she refused to look away.

"it seems a human has once again trespassed on our territory my brothers and sisters, didn't I tell you this would happen after that annoying brat of a boy came to live here in this forest" he spoke loud enough so that he could be heard by the rest of the werewolves, a low growl met his announcement, "but unlike last time you don't have a weak chief, and I won't allow this trespasser to walk free like the last one" she could feel the glares coming from the assembled werewolves, "I'm not without Mersey however, I will let this human decide her fate" the gag was then removed from her mouth, but before she could say anything the werewolf began speaking again, "so I give to you a choice human, you can either join us and become a fellow werewolf or you can die" he knelt down and grabbed her chin with his long fingers bringing her eyes level with his, and whispered "it would be a shame to ruin such a pretty face, wouldn't you agree" with what looked almost like a smirk, she didn't like the look in his red eyes one bit, she then did the most stupidest thing she could have done.

She Spat in his face, "I would rather die than become one of you" she growled with all the hate she could muster, she felt him remove his hand and a second later he hit her across the face with the back of his hand, if she hadn't been chained down she would have collapsed from the blow, her vision almost going black from the blow she heard him start to speak aloud once more to the assembled werewolves, "you see I try to be nice and give her a choice to live and join us, and this is how she repays my generosity" he stopped to wiped his face with his hand before continuing on, "and now I have no choice but to kill her" he stopped for a second before saying in a whisper, "I'll take great pleasure in killing you human" she could see hate in his eyes as he raised his hand and she watched as his claws grew until they were 2 to 3 inches long, she felt a pair of hands pull her head back exposing her throat, she could barely see him go for her exposed throat, closing her eyes realizing she couldn't hear anything do to the blood pounding in her ears she took a deep breath and waited for the pain as her throat was slashed open.

**A/N Thanks for reading, and thank you for the positive reviews on the last chapter, so I hope you like this chapter, read and review please, Suggestions are welcome, until next chapter, bye.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heart of Fire**

**Chapter Three: Rescue **

**A/N I don't own anything from the Harry Potter universe.**

She waited for the pain, but surprisingly it didn't come instead she felt the werewolf that was holding her head back; suddenly let go of her, opening her eyes she saw the leader of the pack in front of her taking a few hurried steps back, looking behind her she saw the same thing being copied by the werewolf behind her, she looked forward again and this time she saw what had made them move, Sticking out of the ground right in front of her was an arrow, the shaft was black with dark blue feather fletching's, the tip was embedded into the earth. Before her brain finished registering this; she heard someone speaking from her right, "I see I made it just in time, STAND DOWN! Scar" a male voice said she could hear the steal in his voice, movement caught her eye, turning her head she saw the werewolves on her right starting to separate leaving a gap in the crowd, she saw a figure standing at the edge of the clearing wearing a jacket made from what looked like animal furs, with a long sleeve animal skin shirt underneath, it was also wearing an animal skin pants tucked into leather boots, the jacket had a hood and it was pulled up so it hid the face beneath, she could also see a mask that covered his face up to his nose so all you could see were his startling bright green eyes.

"You!" the chief snarled at the newcomer, "me" the newcomer replied, as he stated to walk forward toward the circle of werewolves, she saw a bow in his hand with another arrow already knocked, the fletching in the arrow matched the one in the ground in front of her as well as the ones in the quiver on his back, the werewolf behind her made as if to grab her again, but was halted as an arrow clipped his outstretched arm, the werewolf withdrew his arm quickly clutching it to his chest, she could see blood starting to appear through the werewolf's fingers as he cradled his arm to his chest, the werewolves around her tensed, "that was a warning shot" the archer said, as continued to walk towards them, "the next one of you who moves to touch her won't be so lucky" he gestured with his bow showing them he already had another arrow knocked and ready to go, Tonks blinked she hadn't seen him draw the arrow from his quiver, she watched as he passed through the gap the werewolves had made and came to a stop in front of her with his back to her so he was facing the werewolf chief, she tilted her head to the side so she could still see the Werewolf chief.

The chief growled menacingly, but surprisingly kept his distance "nice to see you to Scar" the archer said sarcastically after a small pause, Tonks could clearly see most of the reactions from the werewolves around her even the one behind her they all had varying degrees of respect, anger, nervousness, and in some cases fear, they seemed to have forgotten her completely all their eyes were on the stranger, not that she was complaining or anything, at this point she was glad for the distraction while she tried to wriggle out if the chains binding her to the posts she tried shrinking her hands but whatever the chains were made out of; was still draining every ounce of magic she had, "you're not welcome here Ranger!" the newly christened Scar snarled, pulling her attention back to the scene unfolding in front of her.

"When have I ever been welcome here?" the archer asked, Tonks could feel the tension start to rise even higher as he spoke, Scar opened his mouth to reply but the archer cut him off, "Enough! I didn't come here to trade sharp words with you" Tonks could see the anger in Scars eyes at being cut off, "if you want to go another round I'd love to but this is neither the time nor the place" he continued as if he didn't see the anger in the werewolf's eyes, Tonks saw Scar take a deep breath to calm down before speaking, "you're here for the female, but by forest law trespassers are dealt with by the keepers of that territory anyway they see fit" Tonks felt anger replace the fear she had only moments ago, "_ they speak as if I'm not even here" _she thought, she opened her mouth to speak but the stranger in front of her spoke first "you are correct" Some of the werewolves around them began to smirk, while the other looked as if they knew what was going to happen next, "But!, they also say if that person is an outsider Male or Female, they are exempt from those laws, due to the fact that they don't know the laws of the forest" those words wiped the smirks from the surrounding werewolves, while the other looked as if they had been expecting those words.

"and you know what happens if you break forest law" the archer continued softly after a short pause to let his word sink in, Scar looked as if he was going to explode for a seconded before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his words, opening his eyes he said "you've made your point Ranger, take the female and get out of my sight" Tonks could hear a faint sound of defeat for a second, but it disappeared before he finished speaking, then to her surprise the archer bowed to the werewolf chieftain, Scar made a gesture with his hand, Tonks felt her chains loosen, she stood only for the world to start spinning she tried taking a step but she just ended up collapsing to the floor, the archer caught a as she fell, the world started to go fuzzy as the pulled her arm around his shoulders to support her weight, she heard the archer speak a few words to Scar, before he readjusted his hold on her waist before he started walking, she tried speaking to her rescuer but she only ended up slurring her words, "it's ok I've got you, just rest" the archer spoke softly, those were the last things she heard before the darkness took her..

Change POV.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he bowed in thanks, Scar gestured for the female to be released, Harry straitened back up and turned around, the girl start to stand, no sooner was she on her feet then he saw how unsteady she was, he barley caught her before she fell he grabbed her arm and pulled it over his shoulders, Harry turned to face Scar holding onto the girls waist to help keep her steady, "thank you Scar, someday we'll have to go another round considering how it was a draw last time" he spoke with a small smile on his face now that most of the danger had pasted, Harry could've sworn he saw Scar smile, "one day" Scar agreed, before making a sweeping gesture with his arm, the werewolves around them separated making room for him to leave, readjusting his hold on the girls waist "_she's heavier then she looks" _he thought, and without a backward glance he walked away.

As he walked he had to keep readjusting his grip every so often so he didn't drop his passenger (for lack of a better word), "_huh" _he thought, "_those chains must have drained her completely, she's out cold"_ to this day Harry had no idea where the werewolves had gotten those enchanted chains, he wasn't on the best of terms with them to begin with, but now after this little incident he would have to be even more careful, he'd have to go back in a few days and talk to Scar once the after effect of the full moon waned completely.

Harry continued walking for a couple hours, he didn't stop even when he pasted the marker signaling he had left werewolf territory; Harry wanted to be as far away as he could before midday.

As midday rolled around Harry had to stop to rest, he had good endurance but he was pushing it, having to travel 15 to 20 miles, stop have a very tense conversation with a pack of werewolves, then having to carry someone another 3 to 4 miles was tiring to say the least no matter who you are, setting his passenger down against a tree Harry got his first good look at her, she was around his height with dark purple hair witch was cut short barely covering the tops of her ears, her face was more angled then his with higher cheekbones and a nose that fit her face her lips were a bit on the pouty side, her skin was pale, whether that was her natural skin color or a side effect from the chains he didn't know, he guessed she was about 20 years of age give or take, she was actually quite pretty.

Harry looked at her for another couple seconds before walking to the tree across from her sitting down, leaning against the base Harry began to think, "_I have to get her out of the forest before there's any more trouble" _he thought, he knew it was about a 3 day walk if he was carrying her, if she could walk then that would cut it down to about 2 days to the edge of the forest from where they were, though that path would take them through Fae territory, he was on good terms with the Fae and was a friend of their leader Gilthrandir or Gil as Harry called him, but he wasn't sure how they would take the presence of an outsider, given their standing with the outside world, the other path would go around but it would take them another day and a half of travel, Harry sighed, on one hand he had the Fae and on the other he had the chance of coming across any of the other creatures that wandered this forest, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a silver medallion with a wolf howling at a full moon on one side, while on the other was a the Great Tree of the Brecilian forest, the medallion was very detailed, from the emerald eye of the wolf and the sapphire moon, to the ruby and gold droplets that adorned the Great Tree, the medallion was a gift from the Fae many years ago, he'd been meaning to put on a cord to hang around his neck but he hadn't found the right cord, a special medallion required a special cord, placing it on his thumb he gave it a flick, he watched as it rose spinning into the air, as it reached its apex and started to fall he snatching it and slapped it on the back of his hand. Harry removed his hand to see what side of the medallion was facing up, the emerald eye of the wolf sparkled back at him, Sighing he pocketed the medallion, "I guess the Fae it is, well I need to ask them a few questions anyway" he sighed, looking over he saw that the girl was still sound asleep, he got up and walked over to her, pulling her arm back across his shoulders he lifted her up, holding her around the waist Harry began walking once again.

It was getting dark by the time Harry stopped again, setting his passenger down once more he began to scrounge around for some firewood, in the time he was gone he had not only an arm load of wood but he also had a couple rabbits hanging over his shoulder, when he returned he help a sigh of relief. He'd worried that the girl would wake up and wandered off by the tame he came back, in a few minutes he had a fire going and the rabbits skinned, gutted, and seasoned with the herbs he carried with him in one of the many pouches on his belt, placing the rabbit on spits over the fire to cook, he glanced over at the sleeping form of his well "_I really need something to call her other than the girl or the female_" he thought, hoping she would at least tell him her name when she woke up, he went to find another load of firewood.

Change POV.

Tonks felt her nose twitch and her stomach grumble as the scent of cooking meat reached her nose, she opened her eyes slowly she still felt extremely tired, she found herself lying against tree that had fallen over years ago, there was moss covering the tree so it was actually quite comfortable, her eyes started to close again when the memories hit her, she tried to jump to her feet but she only managed a stumbling lurch that almost deposited her into the fire, now on her hands and knees she noticed the fire with 3 rabbits roasting over it, she felt her stomach grumble again as she saw fat dripping into the fire with a hiss, Tonks felt her mouth start to water from the smell, "they should be ready by now if you want one" a familiar voice spoke from behind her, she jumped as she spun around to face the person who spoke, she found herself sitting down as she looked up at the person that had rescued her from the werewolves, he had an arm load of wood which she guessed was for the fire behind her, "are you just going to sit there staring, or are you going to move so I can tend to the fire?" he asked, it was then that she realized she was in his way, she slid to the side just enough for him to pass, "thanks" he said with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Tonks watched as he walked past her, he deposited the wood next to the fire far enough away not to catch fire but close enough to easily throw another piece on, he paid her no mind as he settled himself across the fire from her, "do you always hide your face?" she asked before she could stop herself, he looked at her, just looked, but she felt as if his eyes were boring into her very soul, "not all the time just, just when I travel, or when I don't want anyone to see my face, makes it easier to remain unnoticed" he replied slowly, Tonks blinked, his voice was surprisingly soft, she watch him tend the fire for a bit she opened her mouth to ask another question when he cut her off, "here eat then we'll talk" he said as he handed her a rabbit, Tonks hesitated briefly before taking it deciding if he wanted to kill her he would have just left her with the werewolves, she tore a strip of meat of only to have to juggle it so it would cool before she could eat it without burning her tongue, it was delicious she began eating faster not caring how hot the food was, before she knew it she had finished the rabbit and tossed the leftover carcass into the fire before grabbing the second one, it wasn't long before she had finished that one as well, tossing the remains to join the first in the fire, sitting back against the fallen tree she saw that her companion was still eating, and for the first time she saw what he looked like, two things caught her attention, the first was the scar over his right eye, the second was that he couldn't have been more than 14 or 15 years old.

A cough drew her attention back to her surroundings; she blushed when she saw the amusement in his eyes, she opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it and changed what she was going to say, "who are you?" she asked instead, the strangers eyebrows rose slightly, "you get over your nervousness quickly don't you?, anyway I see you have a lot of questions so how about this, you ask a question then I'll ask one sound fair?" he said, Tonks thought about it for a moment before nodding, "ok, to answer your first question, I'm.. Well... To put it plainly I'm a peacekeeper or Ranger if you will, my job is to keep the peace in the forest, with so many… exotic animals troubles bound to pop up sooner or later" was his answer, Tonks's eyebrows rose "you do all that by yourself?" she asked skeptically before she could stop herself, he sighed but ignored her question and asked his own, "why are you here in this forest?"

It was a simple question but still a hard one to answer without giving away too much, "my... boss sent me here to investigate some Mag… disturbances in the area" she answered hoping he didn't catch her near slip with the word magic, she didn't know why but she felt that she shouldn't lie to him, his head was tilted to the side by the time she finished speaking, he was silent for a second before began to speak, "your turn to ask a question" he said simply, Tonks blinked in surprise, "ok… what's your name?" she asked after a second, "my name is Harry Potter, but the forest and everything in it knows me as Ranger, you can call me either one I don't really care…"

Tonks couldn't believe what he just said, "wait your Harry Potter?" she asked quickly cutting across him, she knew it was a long shot but if he truly was 'Harry Potter' The Boy-Who-Lived, her cousin would thank her for forever for finding his godson, Tonks tried not to get her hopes up to much, after all this could be a boy whose parents named him after the hero, finally refocussing on him she noticed his raised eyebrows at her reaction at his name, "yes my name is Harry Potter, though i doubt I'm the one you're thinking about, after all I've lived in this forest for 7 years" he said slowly,

Tonks felt her hopes rise even higher at those words, because Harry Potter had been reported missing from his Aunt and Uncles 7 years ago, then she saw it, the scar over his eye had drawn her attention away from his forehead, there in the center of his forehead was a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt, "_wait he could be what's causing the disturbances, _she thought.

It never had been tested what would happen if a child never went to school to learn how to control their magic, after all anyone who had magic was sent an owl on their eleventh birthday, so the question was how did someone not get their acceptance letter most of all Harry Potter one of the most famous wizards in history.

Tonks had seen pictures of both James and Lilly Potter; now that she was looking she could see the resemblance between them and the boy in front of her, he was a near mirror image of James except for the eyes which looked exactly like Lilly's, and that was the final nail in the coffin as the Muggles would say, she was now sure this was Harry Potter the Boy-Who-Lived, even though it could all be just a quiescence, but she was sure beyond a doubt.

At that moment the object of her thoughts decided to speak "by the look on your face you know my name from somewhere" he said bringing her back to the present, suddenly she was at a loss for words how was she supposed to tell him who he was without him thinking she was crazy, "um… how much do you know of your life before coming to this forest?" Tonks asked slowly.

By this time his suggestion of taking turns asking questions was completely shattered, "I usually don't speak about my past very much, but for some reason I find myself curious as to where this is going. So to answer your question I lived with my Aunt and Uncle as well as my cousin, but I didn't come to live here they dropped me off and left, now that I think back I think it was one of the best things they ever did for me…" he said with mixed emotions, Tonks heard the both the anger, gratitude, as well as something ells she couldn't identify in his words, "what happened to you parents?" Tonks asked hesitantly, not knowing if it would trigger a nerve, "my Aunt and Uncle said they died in a car crash, but I don't believe them, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm about to learn what really happened" he replied with little to no emotion in his voice.

"What makes you think that" Tonks asked, to which Harry simply replied, "the look on your face when I they died in a car crash"

Tonks cursed, she was never very good when dealing with people, "well to put it plainly you are correct, your parents didn't die in a car crash, I will explain as long as you don't interrupt me until I'm finished" after he nodded his head she began to tell him about Voldemort and how he came to the Potters house to kill him and his parents, and how he killed both his mother and father before turning his wand on him but for some reason the curse backfired and killed him, she also told him how he came to live with his Aunt and Uncle since they were his only living family, she must have talked over an hour, her thought was dry from all the talking.

Harry seemed to know what she was about to ask because he threw a water skin at her as he looked into the fire a look of contemplation on his face, "that would be a tale most people wouldn't believe" he said not looking at her as she drank from the water skin before replacing the lid she handed it back to him, he took it and took a drink before he continued speaking "but what you just told me matches the few memories I have of my parents before they died" Tonks was shocked "you remember your parents?" she asked, he simply nodded, "do you… um.. remember what happened that night?" she asked not sure she wanted to hear the answer, "I only remember a flash of green light and a woman's scream" he replied emotionlessly, he suddenly shook his head, "well this was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be, but it's late and we should get an early start tomorrow" he said putting an end to any more conversation, taking his jacket off he handed it to her, "here it gets a little chilly at night" Harry said, Tonks took the jacket with a murmured thanks before remembering her manners, she held out her hand and saying, "my names Tonks by the way Nymphadora Tonks, but I prefer just Tonks" he smiled and shook her outstretched hand " nice to meet you Tonks" he said, it was this time that she realized the state of her clothes, they were ripped and shredded showing off quite a bit more skin then she normally did, blushing she withdrew her and pulled the jacket over her head, it was nice and warm she felt herself drifting off as soon as she leaned against the tree.

Change POV.

Harry watched as Tonks drifted off to sleep, he wasn't sure he could fall asleep as easy, his mind was spinning with everything Tonks had just told him, "_Could it be true, Could I really be a Wizard" _he thought, it would explain everything he could do, but it was a little farfetched, "well I guess it's just another reason to stop by and see the Fae" he whispered to himself, before lying down beside the fire, closing his eyes Harry had one last thought before he drifted off to sleep.

**A/N well another chapter down please read and review, if you see anything wrong with the chapter Misspelled word etc. let me know so I can fix them. I'll be explaining why Harry didn't get his Hogwarts letter in the next chapter as well as a few other things. One last thing before I sign off I've been thinking about starting a Founders era fanfic so let me know if you want me to get started on that or finish this one first. Well until next time Cya. **


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